


ELUSIVE // Inquisitor Cal Kestis

by chxsingparadise



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, But they also want to rip each other's throats out so I can't be sure, Cat and Mouse, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Humor, I THIRST FOR MOTIAVTION TO WRITE, I think it's sexual tension, I'm not glorifying the empire's insanity i'm literally just writing this for entertainment purposes, Lightsaber Battles (Star Wars), Romance, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order Spoilers, Tags May Change, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:29:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28992960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chxsingparadise/pseuds/chxsingparadise
Summary: ❝ 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘵-𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧. ❞-.`>.-----`=+=`-----.<`.-In which two troubled adolescents with laser swords battle each other across the galaxy.-.`>.-----`=+=`-----.<`.-{Inquisitor!Cal Kestis x OC}All rights reserved.
Relationships: Cal Kestis/Original Female Character(s), Cal Kestis/Reader, You can basically read this as an x reader fic so you're welcome ;)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21
Collections: Star Wars





	1. - Obscurity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🙤 · ━━━━━━━━━ · ꕥ · ━━━━━━━━━ · 🙦
> 
> 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭;
> 
> 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐬𝐞 - 𝐄-𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄! (𝐅𝐭. 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐆𝐚$𝐩)
> 
> 𝐀𝐫𝐮𝐯𝐧 - 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 (𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫)
> 
> 𝐌𝐀𝐗 - 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 (𝐅𝐭. 𝐋𝐢𝐥 𝐔𝐳𝐢 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐭)
> 
> 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 - 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐔 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓
> 
> 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐨 - 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 (𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐱)
> 
> 𝐍𝐢𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 - 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜
> 
> 𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐊 - 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡
> 
> 🙤 · ━━━━━━━━━ · ꕥ · ━━━━━━━━━ · 🙦
> 
> 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬;
> 
> ◈ Trigger warning (may be updated later): descriptions and mentions of violence. It's star wars y'know.
> 
> ◈ Credits to hertzdo.tumblr.com for the original cover image.
> 
> ◈ I do not claim ownership of Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, its characters, or anything else in the Star Wars universe--the only thing that I own is my oc (along with a few embellishments I added, but most of this story is based on canonical material). I'm simply writing this for fun! All rights reserved to their respective owners :D
> 
> ◈ The media/images I use in each chapter also do not belong to me! 
> 
> ◈ This story is based on an AU where Cal Kestis is an inquisitor. Both he and Nari Stratos are around eighteen years old. 
> 
> ◈ I will be updating irregularly but not infrequently (unless I have writer's block heh).
> 
> ◈ I also posted this on Wattpad. Here's the link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/254534765-%E2%86%AC-elusive-inquisitor-cal-kestis
> 
> 🙤 · ━━━━━━━━━ · ꕥ · ━━━━━━━━━ · 🙦
> 
> Anyways, enjoy! And let the journey begin...

"Fuck. I need a break."

Nari Stratos shoved open the doors of Horduc's Nightclub and pushed herself outside. The brunette inhaled a cool breath of fresh air--the sensation being one of many she hadn't been able to appreciate in hours. She had been working feverishly all evening. Tonight she was filling in for her sick co-worker, who happened to be the usual hostess. It was a pretty uneventful job to have, and often became a difficult one to keep up with, especially on particularly busy evenings. To be honest, rushing around and seating people wasn't the most exciting activity ever. 

At the beginning of her work period, Nari had naively hoped that the number of customers she'd have to tend to wouldn't be too numerous. But unfortunately, tonight's crowd was much more overwhelming than usual.

Earlier that day, the club's actual hostess had called in sick to work, resulting in the owner of the store (who was also the manager), Horduc, to storm over and demanding that Nari fulfill the position for the time being. He was always in a bad mood. The poor girl could never understand why her boss had such an unnecessary attitude. However, she'd gotten used to it over the past six years spent working for him. 

Nari generally flip flopped between various jobs around the club. Sometimes she'd wash dishes, set tables, tidy up the building, or serve orders as a waitress all day. Whatever the boss assigned her to. Sometimes she'd be appointed as one of the club's dancers. That job had its perks: there wasn't as much room to slip up and get an ear-full from Horduc, and she got to prance around in a sparkly costume all evening.

Nari greatly appreciated the new position. It was especially more enjoyable on busy nights, when the extra crowd would hustle over and join in on the fun. There were so many new people to meet; so many interesting individuals to chat with. But of course, on one of the more cramped nights, she just had to be a hostess. Talk about luck, huh?

The brunette circled around to the side of the building in search of a quiet place to collect her thoughts. She often had to step out on stressful nights to decompress. Although these breaks only lasted a couple of minutes, she'd always return feeling a little less overwhelmed. The cool evening breeze tickled Nari's face as she leaned against the edge of an alleyway. 

The surrounding neon lights of nearby buildings lit up the city streets, their shine reflecting off of collecting rain puddles which were scattered on the brick ground. Lively sounds of distant chatter and hurried footsteps carried throughout the bright area. Crowds of people in search of places to trade bustled in and out of buildings while others wandered in search of a fun place to waste the night away.

Life on the city-planet of Odiscuu had remained rather peaceful for as long as anyone could remember. A majority of its surface was covered with bright cities, comprised of towering buildings that displayed stunning architecture, vast windows, and bright lights. Its vivacious and lively ambiance had somehow survived numerous pirate raids over the years, and was even preserved through Order 66. In addition, there was a surprisingly low Imperial presence, despite the fact that it was a major trading hot spot.

A sudden bang resonating from deeper within the alleyway caused Nari to jump out of her skin. The sharp, metallic noise echoed off the closely-built brick walls. Whatever sourced the sound seemed to have come from a dumpster further in between the buildings. Fearing the worst, Nari felt tempted to play it safe and run inside for good measure. But she was also afraid that the cause of the sound might be one of those pesky dumpster divers that often vandalized the club at night. Horduc frequently warned her about them. He had firmly ordered that she fight off any such individuals if she ever spotted them, his tone having given off the "If you don't do this correctly, I'm going to fire you" kind of vibe. 

Of course, deciding that she didn't want to lose her only job, Nari gulped and crouched into a defensive stance. She began creeping down the alley to investigate the source of the noise. The brunette knew it wasn't a good idea, seeing as she was a young, relatively small girl venturing down a dark area at god-knows-when. But, hey, if the nightclub ended up getting vandalized, the girl's ill-tempered manager would probably figure out a way to pin the blame on her. It'd make life as his employee even more miserable than it already was.

"It's not that big of a deal," she muttered to herself, trying to justify the stupid decision she was making. Nari began edging further into the alleyway, nearing the dumpster and a pile of trash bags. She squinted into the darkness in an attempt to try and make out the shapes of any misfits, but was only met with the faint shadow of more trash cans. Sighing and assuming that it was probably just a gaggle of scurriers, the girl straightened herself and turned to leave.

Suddenly, something grabbed her from behind. Before she could cry for help, a hand flew over Nari's mouth, muffling her screams. She was harshly spun around and pushed backwards, her back hitting the alleyway wall. Now pinned between the wall and her attacker, the girl look up to see a strange, raggedy, and hooded figure. However, after observing more carefully, it appeared that tying beneath the hood was a Rodian male.

"P-please, you've gotta help me... I-I... I need money to b-buy some... stuff..." the man stuttered. It was evident that he was heavily drugged up. His breathing was erratic and as he wheezed in pain. It appeared as though each breath he took was bringing him more and more agony. "Please," his tone had changed to sound dangerously aggressive.

Nari gulped. 

"U-Um, I don't have any money-"

"I-I FUCKING KNOW YOU HAVE SOME ON YOU, I SAW YOU C-COME OUT OF THAT CLUB, YOU BITCH!" he suddenly screamed back, drawing out a knife in one quick movement and pressing it to the girl's throat. Nari inhaled sharply, her eyes widening at the feeling of the cold blade slowly easing into her skin. "N-NOW GIVE ME WHAT YOU HAVE, YOU GODDAMN LIAR!"

"Get off me!" she choked out in response, attempting to push the male back. He only growled, remaining steady where he stood. The knife in his hand pressed harder into her throat. Nari cried out. She could feel the trickle of her own blood running down her neck.

 _"God fucking dammit! Why can't I do anything?!"_ she screamed in her head.

Her attacker suddenly pulled his knife away, examining it with glee at the sight of gore on the blade. He paused for a moment, glaring down at the girl in front of him, his face contorted in an expression of pure insanity. Then, he raised his arm, weapon in hand, and lowered his voice.

"If you aren't g-going to give me the money yourself," he snarled, "I'll just fucking take it." 

Then, everything froze.

For years, Nari had been on the run. She had been walking on eggshells for most of her life to mask her connection with the force. Everything she'd worked for, everything she'd fought against -- it was all about to be thrown away. She couldn't tell if her body was shaking from terror or rage. No. It wasn't going to end like this. Not in some crusty, dark alleyway at the hands of some low-life druggie scum.

Nari squeezed her eyes shut as the man brought his knife down. But before his blade could pierce her skin, the he was suddenly thrown backwards. He hit the wall behind him with a sickening crack, his body lifelessly slumping to the ground. For a moment, the girl simply stood there processing what had just happened. That's when she noticed that she hadn't just propelled him, she had unleashed so much force energy that the surrounding walls and ground were nearly shattered. Cracks snaked their way across almost every visible surface, leaving the back wall with a mess of fissures. 

_"Well fuck."_

Reality began to set in. Nari knew she messed up. The amount of force she had unleashed was definitely going to draw attention. All those years of carefully ensuring that she didn't show any signs of being a Jedi had probably just been wasted, but there was no turning back.

"Hopefully no one felt that..." she pleaded to herself, knowing deep down that the chances of her outburst going unnoticed remained slim. Trying to stay optimistic, the girl sprinted out of the alley and back towards the nightclub. She knew that no matter what might happen, there wasn't anything to be done at the moment. "First, I'll finish my shift . Then I can start worrying about what will happen next."

She just had to make it through the evening. 

But once again, luck was not in Nari's favor. On the other side of town, an darkly dressed redhead in light armor perked his head up at the sudden disturbance of force energy. The magnitude of the disruption was so great, he could feel almost exactly where the source was located.

"Well, well, well... it feels like someone's gotten a little ahead of themselves, haven't they? I guess I'm in luck," The male smirked to himself, cracking his knuckles. "In my life time, I thought I would never stumble across another Jedi to hunt."


	2. - Eerie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't proof read this very thoroughly lol. Enjoy doe :smirk:
> 
> P.S. This is also kind of a filler chapter (but hush, we don't speak of that).

The nightclub was filled with the sound of booming music and drunk chattering, neon lights bouncing off of the walls and dance floor. As the evening drew on, more and more people seemed to be flocking into the bar. During this time, Nari had been welcoming and seating as many folks as she could--although the task was becoming more exhausting as time dragged out. The urge to keep herself busy was a feeble attempt at taking her mind off things; specifically the ordeal which had occurred almost two hours ago.

"Hiya! Welcome to Horduc's nightclub! Where would you like to be seated?" The brunette greeted a group of newcomers who just stepped through the door. 

"How about over there near the dance floor?" A Charigan male from the group responded with a smile.

"Of course! Right this way," Nari chirped back, leading them over to a C shaped couch with a table in the middle. They sat down and began chatting with one another. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"How about a bottle of tonight’s house special?” one of the guests requested, nudging his friend.

“Don’t be a dumbass. You can barely get through a bottle of beer without passing out,” his companion scolded. The crowd laughed amongst each other.

“It’d be funny though,” the first male snickered back. His friend only rolled his eyes as the group continued chatting with one other.

"One bottle of Red Jotaz it is. I’ll be back shortly." The girl laughed and hurried towards the bar.

"Jito!" She called, beckoning towards a blue Twi'lek male.

"What's the order?" He asked, wiping an empty shot glass with a rag.

"A bottle of Red Jotaz. Oh, and be a dear and fetch a few shot glasses while you’re at it, too." She batted her eyes in an exaggerated manner.

Jito rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say." 

He picked up a tray and began preparing the drink, pouring various measurements of different liquids into one canister. While Nari waited, she leaned on the bar counter and looked around the club. Everything had been running quite smoothly since her shift started. Not a single alcohol-induced fight had broken out. Everyone appeared to be laughing, dancing, and overall just having a good time.

Then, her eyes landed on a dark figure leaning against a pillar by the entryway. He was wearing all black with what looked to be a few red highlights--though it was hard to tell due to the dark ambiance of the club. The only other thing Nari could make out was that a shoulder cape hung from the man’s body. 

Although it was hard to make out what the guy looked like, his overall outfit and demeanor was enough to make Nari suspicious. She squinted at the man, trying to make out his face. Something was pulling at her on the insides. She couldn’t quite understand what the feeling was, but it certainly wasn’t good. Perhaps it was unease? Wariness? Whatever the sensation meant, she pushed it out of her mind.

"Here you go," Jito suddenly said, snapping Nari's attention back to her task at hand. He gracefully handed a tray of filled shot glasses to the girl, who picked it up with care. "Come back if they need refills."

"Will do. Thank you!" She grinned, making her way back towards the couches. 

"Hope you're having a good time. Let me know if you need anything else," the girl beamed.

“Much thanks!” One of the guests called. Nari bowed, placing the tray down on the group’s table and turning to make her way back to the front of the club. Stepping towards the bar again with a smile on her face, the girl’s attention soon returned to the dark figure by the doorway.

Her happy expression faded, now replaced with one of concern. Come to think of it, she didn't remember welcoming him in. Maybe he was just waiting to be greeted? Or perhaps he was meeting friends. She didn’t know. Something about him was causing her senses to go off, whether those senses be her natural intuition or her actual connection to the force.

Then, a thought crept into her mind. “What if this guy was a… no. That’s not possible. Not that quickly.” she thought to herself, pushing the idea out of her mind. Whatever the case, Nari decided that she had to do her job. Taking a deep breath, the brunette began walking her over to greet the newcomer.

"Good evening! Would you like to be seated?" she cautiously approached the male with a smile. He was tall; taller than she was by at least a head, and had a glorious swath of fiery red hair. But that was all her eyes could make out due to the lack of lighting. 

He turned to face her, looking down. Nari could faintly make out his face now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. The male gazed at her blankly, although the expression in his eyes appeared as though he was scanning her for a sign of something, and Nari had a pretty good idea of what that something was.

"I'm waiting for someone," He replied curtly, shifting his posture to stand straight, now towering over the small girl.

"A-ah, I see," Nari's voice cracked, her composure shattering with the sudden act of assertiveness. Her feelings of fear now overwhelmed her. "Um, well, If you need anything, just let me know!" she squeaked, fidgeting with her hands nervously. 

The tension between the two was certainly mutual as the male's eyes continued to bore into Nari’s, now with a renewed sense of focus in them. Whatever he was playing at, it didn’t last long. She broke eye contact almost immediately, feeling intimidated by his piercing gaze. Turning on her heel, the brunette power-walked back to the bar, every inch of her body shaking from adrenaline.

Nari knew that the male’s reason for being there had something to do with her little outburst earlier. She knew that whoever he was, or whatever his purpose may be, it wasn't good. Her suspicions were probably correct.

It was time to go.


	3. - Flee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bruhhh i wrote half of this in school instead of working on a five page essay,,, let's go gamers

Nari's room in the upstairs area of Horduc's Nightclub was more of an abandoned attic than a bedroom, but it was still a place suitable enough to live in. It was mostly empty, aside from a dresser, nightstand, and small mattress. Yet, although it looked rather plain, the little space still served its purpose of providing a shelter anyways.

In less than fifteen minutes, the girl had packed her things into a small bag -- preparing for the long journey ahead. She already changed out of the hostess uniform and into something more appropriate for travelling: consisting of a darkly-colored garb, combat boots, a utility belt, and gloves.

Nari slung the backpack around her shoulders and glanced around the tiny bedroom for the last time. Sighing, the whole ordeal seemed strangely bitter-sweet in the moment. Although the young girl felt elated about never having to buss another table again, abandoning the life she'd grown used to over the past few years brought with it a feeling of wistfulness. The night club provided Nari with a sense of security. It was something that would always be there, no matter what. But no longer would she be able to wish Jito a good morning, or have the chance to joke around with the other waitresses -- the small things she never really appreciated.

 _"Should I leave a note?"_ She thought to herself. _"No, that'll just raise more questions and put them in danger. They'll probably assume that I finally ran away -- if they even notice."_

Nari turned to the room's only window, one which overlooked a grimy alleyway. She pried it open, carefully hoisting herself out and onto the narrow ledge below.

 _"I just need to get onto the roof,"_ she thought to herself, quietly sliding the frame shut behind her.

The brunette began edging her way down the alley and towards one of the fire escapes jutting from the walls. Although building hopping seemed like a foolish idea, it was a better option than trying to blend in with the crowds of sweaty, drunken strangers in the streets. Besides, since that guy was most likely with the empire, there'd probably be purge troopers flooding the city soon with the knowledge of a rogue Jedi on the loose.

Jumping over to the fire-escape, Nari grabbed onto one of the handrails and hoisted herself over it, maneuvering her way up several other structures before finally reaching the top. She pulled herself up onto the building's roof and jogged towards the next, jumping across the gap easily and heading for another structure to climb to.

🙤 · ━━━━━━━━━ · ꕥ · ━━━━━━━━━ · 🙦

After scaling buildings for what felt like hours, Nari paused for a moment to catch her breath, leaning against a grouping of pipes jutting from the floor. She utilized the opportunity to appreciate the view and take in her surroundings.

The city was as busy as ever, its bright neon lights illuminating the many concrete structures which littered the seemingly endless expanse of constructions. Tiny dots, presumably people, bustled around in the streets as hover cars zoomed above them. What would have been a loud evening in the city instead felt rather peaceful from up here. A cool breeze began blowing, followed by the sudden flash of distant lightning that lit up the dark night sky.

Suddenly, the slow clicking of boots nearby caught the girl's attention.

Nari's breath hitched in her throat. She ducked behind the set of pipes she had been leaning on, holding her breath in fear of making even the slightest noise. Peeking out from where she hid, the brunette's saw none other than the black-clad ginger who'd been loitering in Horduc's Nightclub. He was still wearing the same dark outfit, except now the shoulder cape had been discarded, revealing the light armor he wore and imperial symbols etched into his shoulder plates.

"Hiding, are we?" The male's voice called. "You don't need to be scared; I'm not going to hurt you," he said in a tone of amusement. "Well, unless I have to."

Nari stepped out from where she was masking herself, crouching in a defensive stance.

"There you are," the redhead smirked. "I-"

"You're an Inquisitor, right?" The girl cut him off, glaring at her adversary with deadly intent.

"Straight to the point, huh? You must be grumpy today," The male responded with a sly smile.

"But, yes, I am an Inquisitor. The Eleventh Brother, specifically," He stretched out his arms as if to showcase his glory. "I was able to sense your little force outburst from two districts away. You really should work on your impulse control."

"What are you talking about-" The girl began, about to lie her ass of, but was swiftly cut off.

"Don't even try to pretend. I know who you are, Jedi." The male called smugly.

"Nari Stratos, is it?" He continued. "I had a little conversation with your boss -- Horduc was his name? Anyways, I could tell he doesn't like you very much. Plus he told me everything I needed to know." The Inquisitor paused. "You must've been through a lot, turning up at that club's door all cold and alone all those years ago, and at such a young age, too."

Nari gritted her teeth. "Boy, you're awfully cheerful for a murderer," she barked, hostility lacing her words.

He surveyed her up and down. "And, you're awfully small for a Jedi," he retorted in a humorous tone, earning a piercing glare from the girl in front of him. "Hey, you don't have to take it like that. It's adorable, really."

Nari inhaled so much fucking air out of confusion that she nearly choked. Did this guy, who might be a possible murderer, just hit on her?

"By the way, I haven't killed any of your kind _yet_ ," He corrected, putting emphasis on the last word. "You see, I'm a newer member of the club."

"That sounds like a fat fucking excuse for not being able to do your job correctly, bitch boy!" She immediately regretted taking the disrespectful tone, assuming that this guy, who was probably one of the most dangerous individuals in the galaxy, would probably not find her insults amusing. But to her surprise, he only chuckled at the vulgar remark.

"It's not a matter of skill, darling. I just simply haven't been around long enough to gain the experience. But now," he energetically gestured to the girl, "the opportunity has presented itself to me!"

Nari scoffed. _"This guy is a bit too light-hearted for someone who's about to kill me,"_ she thought to herself.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to do that," the male said with a smirk, as if he knew what the young brunette was thinking.

"How did you-"

"It's called using the force, hot-stuff," the nickname rolled off the Inquisitor's tongue, taunting her. "Since you seem to be untrained with masking your connection to it, I can easily sense your emotions and even some of your thoughts."

"The hell is that supposed to mean? _'Masking my connection'?_ " Nari growled, taking a step forward.

He laughed. "Ah, you naive little girl. If you come with me, I could teach you everything you need to know about the force and its power: things you couldn't even dream of."

"No thanks," she snarled, "there's no way in hell I'm going to throw my teachings away for power."

He chuckled, "You know, you're pretty cute when you're angry."

"What the-" The Jedi stuttered in confusion.

"You're funny, too. I feel like we'd get along quite well." He slowly began pacing towards her, "If you come with me, I can show you the ropes. I think we'd make a great team -- once I refine your abilities to become more suitable for an Inquisitor, that is."

"H-hey, back off!" the girl warned, reaching to her belt, "And would you quit monologuing, god dammit!"

"What's the rush?"

"Well, I kinda have places to be, and they just so happen to be _very_ far away from you, reptile!"

"Damn, no need to be so hostile," He fake-pouted. "And I'd prefer it if you called me Cal."

"Okay then, Cal, would you kindly muzzle yourself?"

"I'd rather not." He took another step forward, now standing less than a few feet away from the brunette. "Well, although I am enjoying our little chat, you'll be coming with me now. So are we gonna do this the easy way or am I gonna have to-"

That was Nari's cue to book it. She threw herself to the ground and tumbled past the Inquisitor, pulling herself up in less than a second and sprinting to the edge of the building.

"...force you," He finished.

Cal calmly watched as the Jedi bolted away from him. Preparing to leap across the biggest gap she'd ever scaled, Nari took a deep breath and jumped. But before she could get even half way through the air, she suddenly froze.

An invisible force was holding her in place, keeping the girl afloat in mid-air. Her arms flailed wildly in an attempt to break free from whatever was keeping her from moving, but nothing worked as she remained in the same spot. Then her body was suddenly yanked backwards.

_"Well, shit."_

Nari cried out as her back slammed against into ground. She lay there for a moment, dazed and with her face to the sky, attempting to recover from having the wind knocked out of her. Hurriedly trying to get up, she was forcefully shoved back down by what felt like a boot on her chest.

"Not so fast," The inquisitor's voice rang out from above her. "Please don't tell me you thought it would be that easy to escape from me?"

The Jedi glared up at him, meeting his gaze. She threw her arms up in front of her, summoning all of her energy to force push the male backwards. He toppled over as Nari Jumped to her feet and began pacing backwards. Cal slowly stood up, leisurely dusting his uniform off, appearing to only be mildly inconvenienced. Thunder rumbled in the distance, the wind picking up and blowing with a whir.

"Well, that was sudden," he flouted, straightening himself and standing just as confident as ever. Soft rain drops began sprinkling down on the two.

The girl reached into her belt and pulled out a narrow item -- a lightsaber. Igniting the blade, she crouched as the bright purple light danced across her features. A dangerous spark flashed in the Jedi's eyes as she patiently waited for her opponent to make the first move. The Inquisitor smirked at the challenge, pulling out his own saber and activating it, revealing a crimson double-bladed device. Despite the confident front Nari was putting up, the male could sense her fear and uncertainty. He stepped forward, slowly closing the space between the two.

"You know, hot-stuff, it's gonna pain me to take you by force," The Eleventh Brother tantalized. "I'd hate to scar your pretty face."

"Oh, save it, motherfucker," Nari growled, pacing to the side. The two began to circle one other, one like that of predator and prey. The rain was p down harder now.

"I know what it's like to be all alone," Cal began, "not knowing what to do or where to go. It's scary just let me-"

"I don't have time for your pathetic manipulation!" Nari spat, abruptly springing forward and swinging her lightsaber down towards the Inquisitor. He quickly blocked her attack, their weapons clashing violently and throwing sparks from the intensity of the parry. They pushed their connected sabers against each other, the sound of rain sizzling from coming in contact with the blades filling the air. Nari suddenly broke away from the bind and ducked under her attacker's next swing.

She swiftly spun around Cal and kicked him in the back, causing him to be knocked to the floor. Seizing her opportunity, the Jedi thew herself towards the Inquisitor, bringing her lightsaber down once again. He deflected the blow with ease and sharply pushed the girl backwards. Nari slipped on the ground that was slick from rain and fell onto the concrete rooftop, her lightsaber deactivating as it fell out of her hands.

"Huh, seems as though you're more trained than you look," the male observed, standing over her, "but you're far from skilled."

The girl rolled over and sat up, making eye contact with the male that was now stalking towards her. Nari's eyes widened in fear, scooting backwards as fast as she could before her back hit a wall.

_"Fuck."_

Cal stopped, standing above the young girl with his boots on either side of her legs. Her gaze briefly flitted to her lightsaber which was laying on the ground a few feet away. However, the male already knew what she was doing.

Without breaking eye contact, he reached backwards, summoning the hilt of her saber with his open hand. The item quivered for a moment before flying into his grasp. Cal crouched down in front of the girl, his knees now flanking either side of her hips with her back was pressed against the wall. Leveling with her face, the male ignited the girl's lightsaber, holding the weapon between them as he inspected it with interest.

"That's a pretty neat lightsaber you got there, hot-stuff," Cal said, further scanning the tool as its purple glow lit up his face. For the first time, Nari could clearly make out his features without having to look through a shroud of darkness. 

Cal looked to be around her age -- in his early twenties -- which was surprising as he seemed too young to be a slave for the Empire. His fiery red hair was even more brilliant in the light -- swooping back lazily in a well-groomed, yet effortless manor. He had dazzling green eyes, appearing even more defined in the shine of the fluorescent blade, and there were a few scars across his neck, nose, and lower lip, but they only added to his slightly disheveled charm. But most notably, his face was dotted with freckles. So many freckles. Oh, how adorable he would have looked if he hadn't been brandishing Nari's own weapon inches away from her.

"So, you like my freckles? I feel honored that you find them adorable," He taunted. Nari forgot that the boy could practically read her mind. She scowled at his teasing, quickly looking away and focusing on something other than him. This only earned a laugh from Cal as he turned off her lightsaber and began pocketing it.

But right before he could secure the object in his belt, Nari abruptly drew her legs to her chest and kicked Cal as hard as she could -- boots connecting with his stomach and sending him flying backwards.

The lightsaber fell from his grip.

Snatching it without hesitation, the girl bolted for the edge of the roof. Cal got back on his feet and looked up just in time to see the brown-haired Jedi jump to another building, disappearing vanishing from sight in a matter of seconds.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" He sighed, running a hand through his red hair. "It's gonna be fun chasing you, _hot-stuff."_


	4. Sparks

"That'll be 20 credits, ma'am."

Nari nodded to the cashier and counted a handful of credits before passing them to him. He eyed her suspiciously -- probably because she was buying herself dinner in the middle of the night -- but pocketed the money regardless and handed her a loose bag of food, which she took with gratitude. 

"Thank you, have a nice night!" The girl called the man before swiftly exiting the building, making her way towards the one of the convenience store's outdoor tables to eat. She set her things down and began unpacking her dinner. 

It had almost been a day since Nari's run in with the Inquisitor. Ever since then, she'd been on the run, catching trains whenever available and making sure she was constantly moving. It was a curse at how big the city was -- the girl couldn't even be sure when exactly she'd reach the outskirts of it. But so far, her plan was simple: move in the opposite direction of where she had first encountered the Inquisitor for as long as possible. 

However, Nari knew she couldn't evade him on foot for long. Travelling across the city by train was too risky, as public transportation would soon be flooded with Troopers on the hunt for her. Perhaps if she could somehow get a hover car, she would be able to make it to the outskirts fast enough to avoid getting caught. Plus, there were probably several scrap yards nearby, which if she was lucky, might have a couple traders selling old ships. It'd be a ticket off this joint. Whatever the case, Nari knew one thing. In order to survive, she had to find a way off of this planet quickly.

🙤 · ━━━━━━━━━ · ꕥ · ━━━━━━━━━ · 🙦

Stealing the hover-car wasn't the hard part of Nari's escape strategy -- evading the city police was.

She zoomed between buildings, speeding towards the edge of the city with the wind whipping against her face as she pulled the steering wheel upwards to fly above the many edifices. She could hear the sound of the cops' whirring sirens behind her as they continued to pursue her, but after a while, the noise began to fade. Ascending above the city seemed to have worked -- it's a good thing the girl was skilled at remaining elusive.

The scrapyard was in her view now. It was distant, but definitely getting closer. Shoving the throttle as far as it would go, the car accelerated to its maximum speed, its engines roaring loudly with the sudden increase in fuel. The Jedi was nearing a skyscraper now, looking down to see a blur of lights and several tall buildings distantly below her. Suddenly, she began slowing down. Nari glanced at the fuel gauge and saw that its marker had fallen below the zero mark, a red light flashing in warning.

_"Oh no."_

A series of agonizing popping noises resonated from the vehicle's core before its engine sputtered to a stop, shutting off completely. The car plummeted towards a building below it with Nari screaming frantically in the driver's seat. She quickly jumped out and landed safely on a concrete platform not too far away, the sound of her vehicle crashing into ground only seconds after. 

The girl looked up just in time to see it burst into flames, chunks of shrapnel and parts being thrown in various directions. She shielded her eyes from the blinding light of the explosion, nearly losing her balance at the sudden heat that fanned towards her from the shock wave. Lowering her arms to reassess the wreckage, what she saw was a flaming pile of metal resting on the edge of the building's roof below her. She stood in shock for a moment, catching her breath while her body came down from the adrenaline high, but quickly recovered and lowered herself onto the ground below.

The building appeared to be under construction -- piles of cinder blocks and exposed support beams littering the area. It was hard to make out any more details of her surroundings, as the only source of light was coming from the moon in the sky. She walked around the open space, almost tripping over a couple discarded pipes on the ground, and made her way over to the building's edge. She peeked over the side only to cringe at the sight of a very long drop from where she was standing.

"Now how am I supposed to get down from this..." Nari muttered to herself, the thought of having to scale down a fifty-story building -- one that probably wasn't very stable at that matter -- filling her with a sense of dread. 

"Not great at thinking ahead, are you, hot-stuff?" 

Nari whipped her head around and was met with the piercing gaze of the redheaded Inquisitor. He was standing a few feet away, much too close for comfort, a slight smile plastered across his freckled face. The girl's eyes widened as she turned away from the ledge and slowly stepped to the side, trying to gain as much distance between herself and the male in front of her. 

"How did you get up here?" Nari asked in a cautious tone.

"What, are you not happy to see me?" the Inquisitor began, taking a step forward.

"You could say that."

"Aw. You're not thinking of running away again, are you? It's starting to hurt my feelings, Nari," he drawled.

The Jedi's jaw tightened at the use of her name. "Well, I don't exactly have anywhere to run at the moment," she shot back, narrowing her eyes at him. Pulling out her lightsaber, she ignited it and crouched in that ever familiar Jedi stance. Cal chuckled and grabbed his own weapon, firing up the dual crimson blades with a deadly buzz and waving them tauntingly. 

"Let's continue where we left off, shall we?" he called.

This time, the Inquisitor was the one to make the first move. He dashed forwards, bringing his saber down towards Nari with a new sense of agility. Barely being able to dodge, she threw herself to the right and attempted to plant a kick in the male's ribs. However, he easily avoided the strike and elbowed her side. The girl yelped, caught off guard, and managed to block another one of his sudden attacks, once again narrowly avoiding being sliced in half. 

He continued to swing mercilessly at her uncertain form, the sound of his lightsaber humming as it cut through the air. Each advance came faster and with more precision. It was as if he was gaining energy rather than expending it. 

The Inquisitor was definitely holding back during the two's first encounter, his skills leaving Nari breathless as she was barely able to keep up with his advances. The male had barely broken a sweat, and something told the girl that although his attacks still were far from reaching their full potential. He was toying with her. Toying with his prey before he finally went in for the kill. It was just a game to him -- one of entertainment rather than competition. Nari would've felt angry, insulted even, but she was growing tired quickly from the constant onslaught of slashes that the Inquisitor was throwing her way. 

The Jedi continued to block here and there, sparks flying with each time their blades connected. He was slowly pushing her back. Nari threw her hand out and sent a wave force energy to launch him backwards, but he simply swiped his hand and blocked it.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" The brunette squealed, as Cal continued his attacks. She countered another one of his blows before rolling on the ground past him. Stumbling to her feet, she tried to make a run for it but was grabbed by back of her suit's collar. Her lightsaber rolled to the floor and switched off as an arm wrapped around her neck, putting her in a choke-hold. Another went around her waist, tightly holding her in place as she tried to struggle against his hold.

The Inquisitor wrestled Nari to the floor, straddling her back as she lay face-down, uttering curses and squirming beneath him. Cal paused to catch his breath and stare down at his newly caught prize. The girl's movements had ceased as she now lay breathless on the ground, panting, chest heaving in exhaustion under the male's weight. 

"Told ya it isn't easy to escape from me," He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the girl below him, but she only huffed in reply. The male pulled out a communicator. "Send a ship to my location," he ordered into the microphone, "I've caught the Jedi." 

Nari heard him pocket the device. She wasn't sure what he was doing until the jingle of handcuffs sounded from above her. The girl squeaked in fear and began struggling again, but it was of no use. He grabbed her wrists and secured the restraints tightly, pushing down on her arms for safe measure.

"Looks like it's just you and me until my squad arrives," Cal began, "I don't suppose you like small talk?"

"Shut, and I mean this in the most disrespectful way possible, the fuck up," Nari snarled.

"I'll take that as a no."

The girl scanned her surroundings to find a possible source of leverage she could use to escape. As her eyes landed on an unstable support beam propped up nearby, a reckless idea creeped into her mind. The Jedi turned to glare at her captor, straining her neck from the absurdness of the position.

"So this is what you're going to do? Sit on top of me until help arrives?" She quipped, voice strained from the pressure being applied to her back. 

The Inquisitor shifted comfortably on top of her, earning a disgruntled squeak from the girl below him. "Pretty much." 

"This is insulting," she grumbled, turning her attention back to the support beam. Clearing her mind and concentrating only on the energy of the force around her, Nari began willing the large object towards her. Her sudden focus didn't seem to go unnoticed to the male on top of her.

"What are you-"

The beam teetered out of balance was brought crashing down. Cal's hand shot out in an attempt to use the force to stop it from flattening them, but the strain of holding up the massive structure was too much. He leaped off of her, allowing the brunette to roll out of the way just in time as the beam hit the ground right where she had been laying seconds ago. Pulling her knees to her chest, Nari slid her bound arms under her feet and to the front of her body before pulling herself up. She glanced over at the Inquisitor who was standing a few feet away before calling her lightsaber to her. It flew into her cuffed hands and she struggled to pocket it, knowing that the weapon would be of no use seeing as she could barely move her arms. 

Turning back to her adversary, she watched his movements vigilantly while racking her brain for a way to escape. Cal seemed to find her attempts at fleeing amusing. His nonchalant attitude towards her being able to barely slip out of his grasp again was, in a way, a kick to the face -- as it showed he found the girl's efforts pathetic. 

The Jedi opened her mouth, about to make a snarky remark before the sudden roar of an engine broke the two's focus on each other. A massive gray ship had flown into view, now hovering beside the building's rooftop. Its loading ramp lowered to reveal an older woman standing in the ship's doorway.

"Get on! There's no time to explain! Hurry!" The woman beckoned to Nari. Without wasting a moment to spare, she began sprinting towards the ship, not having enough time to wonder who this lady was or why she was helping. The Inquisitor stepped forwards to stop her, but was interrupted by a blaster bolt aimed at his chest. He swiftly ignited his lighstaber and deflected it, only to be met with another series of shots.

Despite the barrage of blaster fire, Cal attempted to grab Nari anyways, but she narrowly rolled past him and ran to the edge of the building. She jumped onto the ramp and crawled up the slope as the strange woman ushered her inside while continuing to shoot at their pursuer

"Captain!" she yelled over her shoulder, dodging a deflected blaster bolt that had flown dangerously close to her head. It hit the ceiling with a pop and the door slid shut right after. Nari stumbled over to the cockpit to see a small Latero male punching a series of buttons on the control panel before pulling a lever. The ship lurched upwards and he slammed his hand on the throttle, sending them out of the atmosphere and into space.

The Jedi leaned on the doorway to catch her breath as the strange woman from earlier rushed into the cockpit with her. 

"Get us out of here!" she shouted. 

"Alright, alright!" the male replied, hastily pressing another set of buttons. The stars in the distance blurred together into a blinding white light as the ship launched into hyperspace. Everyone fell silent as a feeling of relief flooded the room, heavy breathing being the only audible sound. Nari looked between the two strangers, panting.

"Who the hell are you people?"


End file.
